Ninth Uncle, Five Camps Divine Generals Edition!

Guangdong Province, Ren Family Town, Yizhuang, inside the courtyard. "I want to learn that!" Shi Shaojian's eyes lit up with blazing excitement as he stared at the three-foot thunder-fire sword held in his father Shi Jian's hand. The core of the blade radiated a dazzling, blinding white light. Where it spread toward the cutting edges on either side, it transitioned into an icy-blue gradient of lightning, which then leaped at the very edges into crackling, blue-purple electric sparks that popped and snapped in the air. *I have to master this!* While Shi Shaojian's eyes shone as he watched the thunder-fire sword angle toward the ground following the descent of Shi Jian's right hand, Liu Xiu's attention was drawn to something entirely different. What Liu Xiu was looking at was the temperature radiating from the magnetically confined plasma sword in Shi Jian's right hand—a terrifying heat intense enough to warp the surrounding space. He also noticed the low hum emitted as the plasma sword was angled toward the earth, as well as the crackling hiss of venting plasma escaping near the tip where the magnetic confinement was weakest. And at the very point of the blade, plasma raged under extreme pressure and heat like concentrated sword qi, forming a tapered plume of electric fire clearly visible to the naked eye! Extending a full foot from the tip of the blade, this cone of electric arc fire resembled the nozzle of a plasma cutting torch. Immediately after, as the angle of Shi Jian's palm shifted slightly, the fiery arc at the tip effortlessly carved a groove into the bluestone paving below, leaving a crystalline cut along the edges! *Hummm—* "!!!" *My bluestone floor!* Ninth Uncle's eyes went wide as he stared at the thunder-fire blade in Shi Jian's hand, its body radiating blinding white radiance and its tip spitting horrifying thunder-fire sword qi. Subconsciously, he wanted to speak up, but Shi Jian gave him no opportunity to offer an explanation. In Shi Jian's mind, Ninth Uncle was merely lying and deliberately avoiding him. When he had sent a message to Ninth Uncle, Ninth Uncle had claimed it was a demonic illusion. Shi Jian could understand that. But after that, he had even instructed other junior martial brothers to send messages to Ninth Uncle as well. Ninth Uncle could not possibly treat every single one of those as demonic illusions! Furthermore, Shi Jian was convinced that Ninth Uncle's sole reason for dodging him was that he did not want to expose his own terrifying talent in thunder arts. As for the reason, Shi Jian simply did not believe that this junior brother of his—who was neck and neck with him in feng shui, numerology, arrays, corpse driving, and more—could genuinely lack talent in thunder arts. He simply believed Ninth Uncle was holding back, or rather yielding to him, so that Shi Jian would have a better chance of becoming the next Maoshan sect leader. Yet did he need someone to yield to him? No, he needed no concessions! It was only ever Shi Jian who yielded to others! Besides, even if Ninth Uncle truly had no talent in thunder arts, it did not matter. Shi Jian had already deduced a Nine-Star version of the Hegemon Body Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Art specifically for him. If the Sun-Moon-Star version of the Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Form-Forging Art could not help Lin Fengjiao cultivate thunder arts, he would use the Nine-Star version. If even that failed, he could continue deducing further! These myriad thoughts flashed across Shi Jian's mind in an instant. With a sweep of his right hand, the plasma blade cut through the air, its low hum immediately trailing a stunning halo of purple lightning. "Lin Fengjiao, show your true strength!" *Whoosh—* The plasma sword sliced through the air. In that instant, the terrifying heat inherent to the blade caused the very space around it to warp in a grotesque distortion. A horrific heatwave washed over Ninth Uncle in an instant, causing his expression to change drastically. Realizing Shi Jian would grant him no chance to explain, Ninth Uncle thrust out his right hand, instantly drawing an arm-length peach-wood sword into his grasp. The moment the peach-wood sword entered his grip, his left hand pinched the sword incantation of the Shangqing Numinous Edge Slaying and Warding Secret Rite and wiped along the blade. In a flash, a layer of slaughterous golden light coated the wooden weapon. As the golden light appeared, the numinous edge received the command. With the full power of primordial qi suffusing the peach wood brought to bear, a golden star-light pierced through the blade—a strike embodying the absolute zenith of slaying, warding, and breaking barriers! *Hum—* The wooden sword tore through the air with a piercing sonic boom, slashing directly into the plasma sword coming straight at it. When the two blades collided, a terrifying ripple of force erupted, carrying with it a halo of purple lightning and fragments of shattered golden light in a booming explosion! *Boom!* Inside the Yizhuang courtyard, a ferocious gale whipped up, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air as crackling electric arcs sparked relentlessly. Around Ninth Uncle and Shi Jian, an arc-shaped void carved clear of dust instantly formed. Just outside the mortuary door, Four-Eyed Daoist was fighting back nausea and enduring the sting of the electric arcs, wondering in astonishment where the scattered flecks of golden light had come from. Then, he saw Ninth Uncle's expression turn grim as he retreated swiftly. In Ninth Uncle's right hand, the arm-length peach-wood sword had been reduced to nothing more than a hilt! Never mind the golden light—even the Shangqing Numinous Edge Slaying and Warding Secret Rite had been broken! "High temperature... vaporization..." Having witnessed the entire exchange, the miniature figure in Liu Xiu's mind spat out those four words. Beyond their sheer sharpness, the greatest power of magnetically confined plasma weapons was their horrifying heat! "Is that all?" Shi Jian's brow furrowed slightly. Keeping the plasma sword held horizontally in midair, he stared at Ninth Uncle with complete bewilderment. Ninth Uncle had been defeated in a single clash! With a thought, Shi Jian dismissed the Primordial Magnetism Disorientation Chapter that was twisting the senses of those around them, and further reined in the blinding white arcs of electricity running rampant across the Yizhuang courtyard. Having done so, Shi Jian looked with a frown at Ninth Uncle, who he believed was still holding back, and said, "Lin Fengjiao, are you still refusing to use thunder arts?" Shi Jian's reasoning was simple. Even Daoist Qianhe suspected Ninth Uncle possessed thunder arts, so Shi Jian was even more convinced. In his heart, he firmly believed Lin Fengjiao knew them! Lin Fengjiao was merely concealing his strength! Of course, Shi Jian thought this primarily because a person's reputation precedes them, and Ninth Uncle was, after all, the disciple of Heavenly Bright True Person. As these thoughts flashed through his head, Shi Jian shifted his footing. There was no trace of magic; there was only the immense physical strength brought about by deducing the Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Form-Forging Art to its fifth layer, Heart Condensation. In fact, it was a terrifying brute force far exceeding Four-Eyed Daoist's power when invoking the spirit-summoning art. The instant Shi Jian stepped down, the bluestone beneath his foot shattered into dust. A spiderweb of visible cracks spread outward from beneath his boots, rippling across the ground. *Crack! Crack! Crack—* Bluestone, courtyard walls, the buildings... The entire Yizhuang trembled three times in that instant as visible fractures crept across the rooms throughout the compound. *Whoosh—* The plasma sword slashed again. This time, however, it produced far more than a mere hum; it unleashed a piercing sonic boom like a howling hurricane, accompanied by white pressure waves and an appalling heat that visibly twisted space itself! *Boom—* "!!!" *My Yizhuang!* *My house!* *The flowers and plants I planted!* Ninth Uncle's eyes went wide with fury. Even a clay figurine possessed a spark of temper, let alone him! He had mistakenly believed the transmissions he heard along the yin road were illusions cast upon him by demons and ghosts. It was true that he had not gone up the mountain to meet Shi Jian the previous night, but that did not mean he had to swallow this kind of abuse! Even if Shi Jian had meant well! His mind consumed by the destruction of his home, Ninth Uncle glared with rage at the incoming strike. Instead of foolishly charging forward into a contest of sword dissolution, he fell back sharply, retreating into the ritual room. The instant he crossed the threshold, Ninth Uncle reached toward the wall with his right hand across the empty air, seizing the magic treasure copper-coin sword hanging from it. He swiftly formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation: "Heavenly Canopy, Heavenly Canopy, Primal Baleful Nine Youths..." Forming a hand seal with his left hand, Ninth Uncle swept his joined fingers across the copper-coin sword hovering before him. A chilling, slaughterous aura and an awe-inspiring divine majesty immediately empowered the blade. The moment this divine power manifested, Ninth Uncle pointed his joined fingers straight at Shi Jian. "Go!" The sword tore through the open air, unleashing terrifying might as a piercing sonic shriek echoed around the flying copper-coin sword. *Whoosh— Clang!* When the two swords clashed, it sounded like the toll of a great bell, yet the deafening roar was vastly more terrible. Visible ripples of air surged from the point of impact. Just as Liu Xiu, watching from the sidelines, was marveling that Ninth Uncle knew the Heavenly Canopy Divine Incantation, he discovered that the copper-coin sword had actually survived the vaporization! *Clang! Clang! Clang—* Three strikes rang out in succession, forming a rhythm. As if wielded by an invisible giant hand, the copper-coin sword, empowered by divine might, struck repeatedly against the plasma blade in Shi Jian's grip. "Not bad!" A faint, stiff smile finally appeared on Shi Jian's face as he offered praise. But having spoken, his right hand shifted. "Yet it is still not enough!" *Clang—* The plasma sword moved. There was no flashy swordplay, nor any glow of spellcraft; there was only a slight tilt of the blade's angle as Shi Jian adjusted his right hand. With that minor tilt, the copper-coin sword, which had been striking along the broad flat of the plasma blade, struck directly against its sharpest edge. *Slash— Clatter!* The coins melted and the cord snapped. The copper coins at the tip instantly liquefied, and the rest clattered noisily to the floor. This sight made Four-Eyed Daoist's eyes widen in shock. Just as Wencai was thinking in despair that his master was done for, Ninth Uncle's rapid chanting echoed from within the ritual room. "Mighty spirits of the Five Camps, garrisoned across the five directions. Summon no armored warriors, dispatch no marching troops. Lend me your astral qi to bolster my mystic blade. Let numinous might permeate the form, soaring with primal fortune. In crossing blades to slay and ward, shake forth the mystic verse. When the deed is done, depart in honor, each guarding your altar's domain. By order of the Three Mao True Lords, swiftly as the statutes and ordinances!" Inside the ritual room, Ninth Uncle stood before a small altar table set in front of the grand altar. Upon it rested five miniature statues no longer than a hand's length. The five small statues were arranged toward the east, south, west, north, and center: Marshal Wen of the East Camp, Marshal Kang of the South Camp, Marshal Zhao of the West Camp, Marshal Ma of the North Camp, and Marshal Li Nezha of the Center Camp—the Five Camps Divine Generals. Ninth Uncle rapidly formed seals and chanted before the Five Camps Divine Generals on the altar. The chant was completed in the blink of an eye. Spinning around, he reached out across the distance toward the copper coins scattered across the floor! *Whoosh—* Under the power of the Five Camps Divine Generals, the scattered copper coins rewove themselves, reforming into a three-foot-long copper-coin sword once more. *Five Ghosts Transport?* Watching from the courtyard without seeing the Five Camps Divine Generals behind Ninth Uncle, Liu Xiu instinctively wondered as he noticed the quantity of copper coins had clearly doubled. While Liu Xiu was pondering, Ninth Uncle was not idling. Holding the copper-coin sword, he chanted another incantation with rapid urgency. "I look up and entreat the Three Mao, may the Dao Ancestors shed their light. I beg not for your descent, but borrow your numinous astral qi. Bolster my edge, slaying and warding to vie in strength. When success is achieved, thanks shall be rendered in full, may the Dao qi endure forever. Swiftly as the statutes and ordinances!" Shi Jian did not attack. He simply watched as Ninth Uncle formed another seal. Once the chanting ended, Ninth Uncle formed a sword finger with his right hand, touched the ancestral corpse resting on the altar table, and then tapped his own glabella. Only after finishing did he face Shi Jian and speak. "Come!" "Good!" With a stiff smile on his face, Shi Jian stepped forward, blurring into an afterimage as he surged toward Ninth Uncle. Ninth Uncle likewise transformed into an afterimage, though he dashed straight toward the main gate of the Yizhuang. "We fight outside!" "Fine!" *Whoosh—* One blinding white, one radiant gold—the two afterimages burst out through the Yizhuang gates in the blink of an eye, enveloped in the clashing din of weapons. Wherever they passed, dust billowed into the air, and footprints turned to fine powder were stamped distinctly across the bluestone paving of the courtyard. "Did Second Senior Brother strike it rich?" Four-Eyed Daoist stared into the ritual room at the enshrined Five Camps Divine Generals in utter disbelief. Seeing Liu Xiu look back at him with confusion, he pointed toward the small statues on the altar and explained, "The Five Camps Divine Generals belong to the method of capturing and dispatching wild spirit soldiers..." "???" "In short... this method costs an enormous amount of money!" Four-Eyed Daoist summarized bluntly. Hearing the sounds of battle coming from outside, he dashed out of the Yizhuang to watch the fight. Liu Xiu glanced at the Five Camps Divine Generals on the altar table—a fully outfitted set, just like the ones from the Daoist One-Eyebrow plotline—and then ran outside the Yizhuang as well. Shi Shaojian and Wencai hurried to follow! When the group reached the gate, all they could see was a grove of small trees a hundred meters away, collapsing trunk by trunk with loud cracks. Liu Xiu watched as the standing trees within the grove exploded into clouds of flying sawdust under a barrage of booming impacts, the clashes of the two afterimages, and the ring of metal on metal. "How strange... How did Second Senior Brother's strength increase so quickly?" Four-Eyed Daoist muttered in confusion, his eyes wide. "Tianhei must have given him extra lessons on the sly!" Shi Shaojian said without a second thought, his eyes fixed on the plasma sword in Shi Jian's hand. Four-Eyed Daoist paused, then nodded in agreement. "That's very likely!" Setting everything else aside, just looking at the might of the Five Camps Divine Generals enshrined in Ninth Uncle's ritual room, it was obvious these were no freshly raised troops. They had almost certainly been allocated to Ninth Uncle by Heavenly Bright True Person—perhaps even wild spirit soldiers that Heavenly Bright True Person had nurtured for many years! Then there was the Heavenly Canopy Divine Incantation Ninth Uncle had just employed. That was a technique of the Northern Emperor Sect, something a Maoshan Daoist should not have known. Four-Eyed Daoist refused to believe Ninth Uncle had been lucky enough to step out the door and stumble upon an abandoned battalion of spirit soldiers and the Heavenly Canopy Divine Incantation. Clearly, this was all connected to Heavenly Bright True Person! After all, it wasn't the first time Heavenly Bright True Person had done something like this. He had pulled similar stunts in the past. Yet because it was handled within the bounds of propriety and rules, Four-Eyed Daoist couldn't say much. But as things stood now, he felt that no matter how much effort Heavenly Bright True Person poured in, it was all in vain, because Shi Jian was simply too strong. He could tell that Shi Jian hadn't even used his full strength!! "???" *Wait, they really are cheating!* Unlike Four-Eyed Daoist's line of thought, Liu Xiu was momentarily stunned. He could only think back to the idea that things looked awfully shady as he stared ahead at the small grove of trees, which had nearly been flattened by the duo's attacks. He didn't have many complicated thoughts right now; he was merely wondering whom he could report this blatant favoritism to, and just how shady that Heavenly Bright True Person really was! Amidst these thoughts, he frowned as he watched the copper-coin sword in Ninth Uncle's hands continuously vaporize whenever it made contact with Shi Jian's plasma blade. Although portions of the copper-coin sword were vaporized, they were quickly replenished, convincing Liu Xiu that Four-Eyed Daoist was right. Ninth Uncle really might have struck it rich!! *These copper coins count as ritual implements, don't they? Where did Ninth Uncle get so many copper-coin ritual implements?* Liu Xiu wondered in bewilderment. Whether Ninth Uncle had struck it rich or not, Wencai had no idea. He simply stood with a blank expression, staring at the grove where waves of clashing metal rang out. He watched as tree after tree exploded and collapsed with loud bangs amid the collision of gold and white light, sending visible ripples of force radiating outward. "My master... is that powerful?" *Is this really still my master?* Wencai mumbled dazedly. He subconsciously recalled how, during this recent period, Ninth Uncle had suddenly taken to staying out all night and disappearing during the day. Then there was that white-bearded old man claiming to be his grandmaster, who appeared from time to time to inform his master of where demons and ghosts needed dealing with. Showing a rare flash of cleverness, Wencai felt there had to be a connection between all of this, though he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Shi Shaojian's thoughts were far simpler: he wanted to learn this method of wielding a thunder plasma sword!! Inside the grove, amidst the swirl of sawdust flying through the air! His face slightly pale, Ninth Uncle gripped the copper-coin sword shrouded in divine light, eyeing Shi Jian with deep wariness. No other thoughts crossed his mind; he only felt that the growth in Shi Jian's strength was completely absurd. What's more, he couldn't fathom why a Daoist would practice physical conditioning! *Who does that?!* Ninth Uncle's sword-wielding right hand, hidden slightly behind his back, trembled uncontrollably. It wasn't a matter of whether he was afraid; his hand simply hurt like hell! "Not bad!" The stiff smile on Shi Jian's face grew even broader. Releasing his right hand, the plasma sword vanished with a snap into dispersing electrical arcs, revealing an unblemished right hand. *Seriously, what is a Daoist doing cultivating hard-body training?!* Seeing Shi Jian's unharmed right hand, Ninth Uncle's eyelid twitched violently, thoroughly shocked by the sheer toughness of Shi Jian's physique. Perhaps because they had traded blows, Ninth Uncle's anger had subsided considerably. He merely forced a bitter smile and explained, "Senior Brother, I truly didn't ignore your messages on purpose. At the time, I was traveling along the yin road, right beside the lair of a grand demon. I thought it was casting illusions on me from the shadows!" "Among our peers, aside from Zhaixing, you are the only one who has managed to fight me for this long—even if you relied on external power!" "???" *Wait, I'm trying to explain things to you!* *What in the world are you thinking about?!* Ninth Uncle stared with wide eyes at Shi Jian, who seemed entirely deaf to his words. He suddenly wondered if he had somehow been struck mute. Just as he was thinking this, he saw the stiff smile on Shi Jian's face, several meters away, widen further as he spoke. "However, if you are still unwilling to bring out your true capabilities, then what comes next might be... a little unpleasant for you..." "Senior Brother, I have already done my utmost!" "Stop holding back. Unleash your thunder arts!" "???" *Am I really mute?* *Could I be so heavily injured that I've lost my voice without realizing it?* Ninth Uncle looked utterly bewildered, genuinely suspecting he had suffered some severe internal injury he hadn't detected yet, making him think he was speaking when in reality no sound was coming out. Seeing Ninth Uncle's dazed look, Shi Jian, without the slightest confusion, furrowed his brows slightly. His sleeves widened, and iron beads flew out one after another, hovering around his body. As thunder arts stirred, primordial magnetism was born. Light rails of crimson and blue instantly condensed into being along both sides of Shi Jian's body. Terrifying primordial magnetic force erupted as he activated his great divine ability of primordial magnetism. Under Shi Jian's precise control, twenty-four iron beads settled into the starting points of the red and blue light rails and began to spin on their axes. Immediately after, these twenty-four iron beads seemed to transform into twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls, radiating a blinding white glare that made it impossible to see, accompanied by a horrifying, ear-splitting screech of rapid grinding. *Danger, danger, danger—* The frantic warnings surging from Ninth Uncle's cultivator mind caused his face to change drastically. He instinctively wanted to shout that he surrendered and wouldn't fight anymore. He even wanted to flee, yet Shi Jian's intent moved faster than he could react!